Nanban Trade

The Nanban Trade was the arrival of Dutch and Portuguese merchants in Japan in the mid-16th century. The first arrived in 1543, when a Portuguese crew of shipwrecked merchants sold firearms to the inhabitants of the island of Tanegashima, off Kyushu. Nanban Trade would be closed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603 with the expulsion of foreigners and Christians from all areas except for the port of Nagasaki.

History
In 1543, the first Portuguese merchants arrived in their Japan when they were shipwrecked on the island of Tanegashima off the coast of Kyushu. Portuguese merchants had already set up bases in the East Indies and the Dutch had colonized some forts on Illha Formosa (Taiwan) and in parts of China and Indonesia, but no foreigners had come to Japan before this time. In 1555, Nanban traders arrived at one of the Oda's ports, seeking permission to establish a trading post. Allowing this would give the Oda access to new firearms. However, by doing so they ran the risk of introducing undesirable nanban influences, such as Christianity, to the clan. Nobuhide Oda welcomed the opportunity to engage in material and cultural exchange with the nanban and built them a trading post.

The Portuguese did, indeed, introduce new guns and religion to the Japanese people. When under duress, some clans such as the Shoni and Shimazu converted to Christianity to find solace. More samurai leaders became Christian to seek atonement, but religion was clamped down upon in 1637 in the Shimabara Rebellion by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Firearms were accepted by the Japanese people and although Hideyoshi Hashiba attempted to outlaw guns in the 1590s, they remained a major weapon in Japanese warfare. They put samurai mercenaries out of business and won Nobunaga Oda the 1575 Battle of Nagashino, which confirmed his rise to power. Nanban traders influenced Japan in many ways that benefited and also disabled the Japanese clans, and impacted history up until the end of the Shogunate with the aid of British and Americans in the 1860s Boshin War.